Stealing a March on the Workers

Written:Written May 6 (19), 1917Published:Published May 20 (7), 1917 inPravdaNo. 51.

      Published according to the newspaper text.Source:Lenin
	  Collected Works,

      Progress Publishers,1964,

      Moscow,Volume 24,

      pages367-369.Translated:Isaacs BernardTranscription\Markup:B. BagginsandD. WaltersPublic Domain:Lenin Internet Archive

      1999

      (2005).You may freely copy, distribute,
	display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and
	commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet
	Archive” as your source.

Yesterday,May 5, two of the big dailies—Dyelo
      NarodaandRech—carried an announcement on
      their front pages, later reprinted in the Guchkov-Suvorin
      evening paperVecherneye
      Vremya,[1]which deserves serious attention.

Thepublic is informed that “in accordance with an agreement
      between the Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies and the
      Union of Engineers, as authorised by the Provisional
      Government”, there has been organised in Petrograd a “Central
      Committee for restoring and maintaining normal work in the
      industrial enterprises”.

“Themain task of the Central Committee,” the announcement
      reads, “is to work out and co-ordinate all measures aimed at
      restoring and maintaining normal work in the industrial
      enterprises and to organise regular and activepublic
      controlover all industrial enterprises.”

“Themain task of the Central Committee,” the announcement
      reads, “is to work out and co-ordinate all measures aimed at
      restoring and maintaining normal work in the industrial
      enterprises and to organise regular and activepublic
      controlover all industrial enterprises.”

Thewords “public control” were italicised in the
      announcement.

Theyremind one of the Senate and other bureaucratic committees
      of the good old tsarist days. No sooner had some knave of a
      tsar’s minister, governor, marshal of the nobility, etc., been
      caught red-handed at some thievery, no sooner had some
      institution directly or indirectly connected with the tsar’s
      government conspicuously disgraced itself through out Russia or
      throughout Europe, than a high commission of “personages”
      notable and super-notable, high-ranking and super-ranking, rich
      and super-rich was appointed to “appeasepublicopinion”.

Andthese personages usually managed to “appease” public opinion
      with conspicuous success. The more high-sounding the phrases
      about our wise tsar salving “the popularconscience” the more
      effectively did these men kill the idea of any “public
      control”.

Soit was, so it will be, one feels like saying as one reads the
      pompously worded announcement about the new Central
      Committee.

Thecapitalists have decided to steal a march on the
      workers. There is a growing consciousness among the workers that
      aproletariancontrol over factories and syndicates is
      necessary. The master minds of the business world from among
      ministerial and near-ministerial circles have had a “brain
      wave”—to forestall events and take the Soviet in tow. This
      should not be difficult, they thought, so long as the Narodniks
      and Mensheviks are still in control there. We’ll fix up “public
      control”, they said to themselves. It will look so Important, so
      statesmanlike, so ministerial, so solid. And it will kill all
      possible real control, allproletariancontrol so
      effectively, so quietly. A brilliant idea! The “popular
      conscience” will be completely “salved”.

Howis this new Central Committee to be composed?

Why,on
      democratic lines, of course. Are we notall“revolutionary democrats”? If anyone thinks that democracy
      requires 20 representatives from 200,000 workers and one
      representative from 10,000 engineers, capitalists, etc., that
      would be an “anarchist” delusion. No, true democracy consists in
      imitating the way in which “revolutionary democracy” has
      composed its “new” government, where the workers and peasants
      are “represented” by six Mensheviks and Narodniks while eight
      Cadets and Octobrists represent the landowners and the
      capitalists. Do not the latest statistical surveys now being
      completed by the new Ministry of Labour by arrangement with the
      old Ministry of Industry prove that the majority of Russia’s
      population belongs to the class of land owners and
      capitalists?

Here,if you please, is acompletelist of
      “representatives” of the organisations that have been included
      in the new Central Committee by agreement between “revolutionary
      democracy” and the government.

TheCentral Committee is composed of representatives from the
      following organisations:(1)TheExecutive Committee of the Soviet of
      Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies;
      (2) The Provisional Committee of the Duma;
      (3) The All-RussiaUnion of Zemstvos;
      (4) The All-Russia Union of Cities;
      (5) The Petrograd Municipal Administration;
      (6) The Union of Engineers;
      (7) The Soviet of Officers’ Deputies;
      (8) The Council of Congresses of Representatives of
      Industry and Commerce;
      (9) The Petrograd Society of Factory Owners;
      (10) The Central War Industries Committee;
      (11) The Central Committee of Zemstvo and City Unions for Army
      Supply;
      (12) The Committee of Technical War Aid;
      (13) The Free-Economic Society.

Andthat’s all?

Yes,that’s all.

Isthat not sufficient for salving the popular conscience?

Yes,but what if some big bank or syndicate of capitalists is
      represented five or ten times through its share holders in these
      ten or twelve institutions?

Oh,why quibble about “details”, when the main thing is to
      secure “a regular and activepublic control”!

[1][PLACEHOLDER.]